The Everwood Story
by cameron123
Summary: When Ephram moved to Everwood, he met Madison - and he knew that from the first moment they met, he liked her. But Amy still continued to compete for his heart...please read and review!
1. The Introduction

The doorbell rang. It was movie night at Madison's house, so the whole gang - Shaun, Eddie, Bridget and Madison – were seated around the television.

"I'll get it!" Madison said, leaping up from her cushion to open the door.

Ephram stood in the doorway. He was wearing his usual baggy jeans, and a black and white T-shirt under his black zippy.

"Hey," he smiled at her, and instantly shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Hey! You made it! Everybody, you all know Jake," she replied, turning to face the others. They waved at Ephram, with friendly faces.

When everyone was settled, Madison stood up in front of the television with an armful of DVDs and videos.

"So! Should we pick…2 movies?"

"What do you got?" piped up Eddie.

Madison glanced over the films in her arms. "Let's see…Dude Where's My Car, Slap Her, She's French, Jeepers Creepers 2, Billy Madison…"

"Woohoo!" Bridget interrupted.

Madison pulled out a dusty video cassette from the cabinet. "And…" she looked round and whispered, "of course, The Blair Witch Project."

"Woohoo," Bridget interrupted. Again.

"I agree," Shaun laughed. "Definitely Blair Witch." He smiled nervously at Bridget.

They rest of the guys agreed. That is, the rest of the guys who weren't animatedly discussing Simple Plan. In reality, this left only Madison.

"But what about Slap Her, She's French first? Have you seen that, Bridge?" Shaun asked.

Bridget was caught off guard. "Uh...no, not yet.

Shaun grinned. "Ok, let's watch that." Again with the shy smiling.

Madison sighed as she put the tape in. Was she ever going to get a boyfriend? It wasn't like she wasn't pretty. In fact, although she didn't realise the extent, Madison was probably the prettiest girl in the 10th grade.

Ephram heard her sigh. He patted the cushion beside her, and she walked over to him, smiling.

And that's how they stayed for the rest of the night. Bridget fell asleep on Shaun's shoulder, and Madison, Ephram and Eddie curled up together on the cushions next to the sofa.


	2. The Proposition

A/NJust wanted to say that the Madison in my story is completely different to the one in the series. Mine has browny/auburn hair, for example. Enjoy!

Madison sat at the kitchen table eating an apple. As she flicked through a random magazine, her mom, Mariah, walked through the door.

"How can anybody think that Slipknot are better that Greenday? That's just not right," she joked to her mom. Mariah wasn't paying any attention whatsoever.

"Huh? What?"

Madison looked up. "Who do you prefer? _Greenday…_or Slipknot."

"Hmmm..." her mom hesitated. "Metallica."

Madison rolled her eyes and laughed. "You're just a walking joke book, ain't ya?"

Mariah came to sit at the table. "Um…I have a proposition for you."

"I'm listening."

Madison's mom cleared her throat theatrically. "Well. A friend of mine that just moved here needs a babysitter to take care of his daughter. I think she's 9 or 10. You interested?"

Madison nodded enthusiastically. "When do I start?"

Mariah chuckled. "Today, actually…"

"And what time would that be? An address maybe?"

"Now. Andy wanted you to meet him at this address…" Mariah said as she fished out a scrap of paper from her pocket. "He wants you to have dinner there and meet the family and stuff, I guess."

"Riiight. Ah well. I guess I better be going. I'll be back around 2am, yeah?"

"Hilarious. Just hilarious," Mariah sighed as Madison left the house with her skateboard.


	3. The Meeting

A/NThanks for the reviews. Hope y'all are enjoying' the story!

Madison lifted her board up from the ground and walked up the drive. A car horn sounded behind her, and she turned round to see a friendly looking man get out of the car.

"Hey there!" he said, walking over to shake her hand. "I'm Andy. You must be Madison."

"Yup."

"If I open the door for us, could you give me a hand here?" Andy asked, as he pointed towards the groceries in the open trunk.

Madison nodded eagerly. "Sure!"

"Thanks!" Andy replied. "Follow me."

Madison got the rest of the bags, closed the trunk, and walked through the front door into the kitchen.

"Delia's very easy to manage. But sometimes I have to work late, and my son will probably have all his social activities…"

Madison placed the bags on the table. "You have a son?" she said, interested.

Andy nodded. "Yeah, he's actually about your age. But he's…you know…pretty 'to himself.' After my wife died and we moved here to Everwood, our relationship kinda deteriorated…"

Madison nodded understandingly. _I went through the same thing with Mariah, _she thought.

"He doesn't really talk to me much anymore. Your typical teenager, you could say…" Andy chuckled, but Madison could see the pain in his eyes as he did so.

Andy was cut off as Ephram walked in. "Thanks for the introduction," he said as he rolled his eyes. "Hey, I'm…" Ephram faltered, as he caught sight of her.

Her chestnut hair cascaded down her shoulders, casually flicking and twisting in different places. She brought her hazel eyes up to gaze into his, and when she smiled, her whol face lit up.

Ephram knew that he would never forget that moment.

"Madison…"

She smiled again. "Hey, Ephram!"

Andy looked slightly confused. "You two have met?"

"Yeah, Ephram's in my class at school."

Sure, Ephram knew her. But for some reason, Madison looked different to the way she had looked at the movie night. Today she looked…stunning.

Clapping his hands together, Andy said excitedly, "Well, that's great! So it's just Delia left. Delia?"

"What?" she called from upstairs.

"Come down and meet Madison, the babysitter!"

Delia galloped down the stairs. "I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming," she yelled, until she found herself face to face with Madison.

"Hey," Delia breathed, slightly astounded.

"How's it going?" Madison replied cheerily.

"Pretty good. I just hammered my friend Sam at Snap." She said, and they all laughed.

Andy started to put the groceries into the shelves. "Well, you three can get to know each other in the living room. Nina's coming over soon to prepare dinner…"

Madison, Ephram and Delia went into the lounge. Laughing. Talking.

Having fun.


	4. The Arrival

A/N Thanks for the reviews. Great news for Amy fans – she features in this chapter. Bad news – she's a total cow. Enjoy!

"No way," said Madison. "Billy Joe forever and always!"

"I second it!" joked Ephram, raising his glass. They all laughed.

Nina shook her head. "Nuh uh. Metallica rule all!"

"I second _that_!" Andy laughed. They clinked glasses.

The doorbell rang.

Madison was sitting closest to the door. "Do you want me to get that?"

"Sure, thanks," Andy nodded. "And if it's the Brownies, we've got enough chocolate

chip cookies!"

Madison left the sound of laughing voices, and went to open the front door.

Amy stood in the doorway.

She wore a white fleece, even though it was quite warm. Madison herself had been

wearing a gray T-shirt with the Blink-182 symbol printed on it in white. Levi's ripped

blue jeans fitted loosely around her legs, and she wore white flat sandals.

Amy seemed to be crying, but her eyes weren't red, and neither was her nose or her

cheeks. She looked disappointed when Madison opened the door.

"Oh! Hi. Doesn't Ephram live here?"

Madison tried to read Amy's expression. "Yeah, but we're kind of in the middle of

dinner. I guess I could give him a message if you want…?" She smiled, trying to be

friendly. She knew all about Amy Abbott.

Amy sniffed again. "No, I would like to speak to him in person." Then she glared at

Madison. "If that's okay with you."

Madison folded her arms across her chest. "And what's that supposed to mean?" she

asked, politely but firmly.

Amy glared again. "Well, you're obviously the woman of the house…" Amy was

interrupted as Ephram entered the hallway.

"Madison? What's going on?"

"Miss _Abbott_ here was collecting for the Brownie Camp. I _told_ her and _told_ her that

weren't interested, but she just wouldn't listen…" Madison faked a sigh.

Amy coughed. "Actually, I – I just needed somebody…to talk to, I guess. About Colin

and all. You see…

Madison rolled her eyes. "Why don't you 1) respect the fact that you can't use your

boyfriend's death as an excuse to hit on the new kid, and 2) go tell someone who cares?"

"You came to me – to talk?" Ephram asked, confused.

"Yeah…I guess I just wanted someone who wouldn't judge me, who didn't know the

story…" she glared at Madison, but Ephram didn't see.

"Oh please," Madison scoffed.

"Ephram?"

Ephram looked from Madison, to Amy, and then back to Madison. "Uh…Amy, why

don't you join us for dinner?"

Amy smiled. "You're sure?"

Ephram gave her a slightly bemused smile.

Amy entered the dining room, and Ephram followed. Madison sighed, shook her head,

and followed them, a few seconds after.


	5. The Dinner

**A/N I am soooooo sorry about the wait - but not gonna make excuses. Camdengirl – I'll try and make the chapters longer from now on, or put up more than one at a time. Thanks for all the reviews. Keep 'em comin'!**

The dining room was quiet. The only sound heard was that of Madison's fork clinking against her plate. Andy tried to break the awkward silence.

"So!" Everyone looked up; the sudden word was surprising. "You're all in the same class?"

"Yup," said Madison, eyeing Amy suspiciously.

She smiled smugly. "Ephram sits behind me." Amy smiled sickly sweetly round at everyone.

"Good for him," Madison muttered sarcastically under her breath.

Amy raised her eyebrows. "What was that?"

"Idiot says what?"

"What?"

The Browns, Madison and Nina tried to stifle their laughter.

Amy shook her head. "That's just sooo immature."

"What did you call me?"

Amy looked up, slightly nervously. "Well – you – you called me an idiot!"

Madison smiled. "Maybe I didn't make myself clear. What did you call me?"

"Immature! Okay? Immature!" Amy glared at Madison, blushing furiously. She was extremely embarrassed.

Madison nodded. "Just thought I'd make sure. I wanted to know for sure that you, Amy, who came here with some fake story about your boyfriend to try and hit on Ephram, are calling me, Madison, the one who has been hired as a babysitter, immature."

Nina felt that this was the right time to cut in. "Maybe you should…"

Madison got up. "You know what? Forget about it. I'm going upstairs to hang out with mature, 9-year-old Delia." A/N – sorry if it's the wrong age!

Again, there was silence as Madison left the room. Nina exhaled.

"Wow! Uh, Hannah, maybe you'd better go. Your parents are probably worried about you."

Amy looked shocked. "But…I…"

"Yeah, I think that's best," Ephram cut in. "After all, you've just been through a rough break-up…"

"And you'll probably want to be alone with your thoughts," Andy finished.

Amy nodded, trying to come across as if she understood. "Oh. Uh…ok." She then batted her heavily mascara-laden eyelashes. "Ephram? Maybe you could walk me home?"

"Actually, I think I'd better clear the table…"

"Wash the dishes," said Andy.

"Prepare dessert!" said Nina.

Ephram turned to look back at Amy. "Sorry."

Amy swallowed. "Don't worry about it!" she said, her voice higher than normal. "See you later, Brown," she whispered, giving him the eye.


	6. The Apologies, Parts I and II

**A/N Howdy folks. This chapter is kinda confusin' about the whole Colin thing, but let's just say that Colin died before Ephram came – sorry! I just realised it as I was typing it up. Hopefully you'll still like it!**

**Krazypirategurl – sorry, I know how you feel. But I just wanted to have some _evil_ in there, you know? But don't worry, she ain't 100 witch.**

"She what!" yelped Bridget, as she and Madison walked into school the following Monday.

"I know! I mean, I didn't realise that she was _that_ starved for attention," Madison replied, sighing pitifully. She had just told Bridget what had happened the day before.

"Yeah, well. You sure told her!" Bridget laughed, but Madison felt slightly guilty as they opened their lockers. From behind, Ephram come up next to her.

"Hey!"

Madison looked down, then directly into his eyes. The mood was awkward, until Ephram decided to speak. "Look, I'm sorry – "

Madison shook her head. "You've got no reason to be sorry. I shouldn't have blown up like that, Tell your dad and Nina that _I'm_ sorry."

"Oh, uh hey, it's okay. It wasn't your fault," he said. _With that gorgeous half smile of his_, thought Madison.

"Yeah, well. Let's just start over, yeah?"

Ephram's face lit up. "Sure! Hey, uh, my dad's having a fundraiser on Saturday night for the AIDS trust. It's some kind of lame ball, and apparently there'll be no alcohol, but it's some weird Las Vegas theme. I guess Everwood isn't exciting enough for them…"

Madison raised her eyebrows. "Ephram Brown, are you inviting me to a ball?"

Ephram smiled. "Well…I guess…And Bridget too….but only if you want…"

"Wow! Thanks, I'd love too."

"Me too!" said Bridget.

Ephram grinned in relief. "Great. Well, I'll see you around?"

Madison turned to smile back as she walked away. Ephram took that for a 'yes.'

As he was on his way to enter the classroom, Amy came bounding up to Ephram. "Ephram, wait up!" she panted.

Ephram turned to face who it was calling him, but when he realised it was Amy, he turned back and kept going.

"Ephram, please. Hear me out." Ephram raised his eyebrows. "I know it sounds lame, but I really was feeling depressed about Colin, and I just wanted some sympathy. You live…well…pretty near me, and I knew I wasn't going to get any sympathy at home, so – I'm just really sorry."

Ephram exhaled. "It's okay. Don't worry about it," he smiled. Amy melted inside. _Damn, that smile is gorgeous_.

"So you forgive me?"

"Sure!"

"Well, I was thinking… maybe I could make it up to your mom and dad and Madison and Delia by…"

"My mom?" Ephram's voice cracked slightly.

Amy smiled. "Yeah! Nina?"

Ephram sighed. "Nina…she's not my mom. She's just a friend of my dad's. My mom died a little while ago."

Amy put her hand to her mouth. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry for you!"

Ephram ran his fingers through his hair and shrugged. "You didn't know. What were you saying?"

Amy grinned again. "Well, I was thinking that maybe I could help out at the fundraiser? To make it up to everybody?"

Smiling, Ephram said, "Sure! It's on Saturday night, and…"

"Oh don't worry," Amy said slyly. "I know _all_ the details." She smiled playfully.

"Great!" Ephram said. "Well, I guess I'll see you there!"

They both went their separate ways, one planning the night ahead, and the other not suspecting a thing.


	7. The Ball

**A/NI just realised that I'd kinda left out some of my other made-up characters, so they feature a bit more in this chapter. Please please please keep reviewing – cameron123 like reviews vewwy vewwy much! Any ideas, comments or opinions, I love it all!**

Madison and Bridget were getting changed into their ball in the small room above the dance hall. The fundraiser had already started but they had decided to come down the stairs fashionably late – very chic.

"So? Maybelline or Revlon?" Bridget asked Madison.

Madison fluttered her eyelashes, pretending to be a model. "Well, which do you recommend?" she drawled in a posh voice.

"Why, Revlon of course!" Bridget giggled.

Madison stopped laughing for a moment and looked up thoughtfully. "What do you think Amy'll be wearing? Do you think maybe she'll go commando?" She giggled, nervously.

Bridget rolled her eyes. "Why do you even care? Your dress is totally better than anyone's!"

"But what if Ephram…"

"Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh!"

"What?"

"You totally like Ephram!"

Madison looked down. "I do not," she said quietly.

"You so do. This is awesome!"

Madison laughed in admittance. "Oh yeah? Well you totally have the hots for Shaun!"

Bridget gasped. "Ssh, someone will hear you!"

"What?"

"Someone'll hear you!"

"So what?"

Bridget now looked anxious. "Madison…I really don't want to like him – but I can't help it! He's just so cute…and funny…and…well, perfect, I guess."

Madison looked confused. "Am I missing something, or what? I don't see the problem."

Bridget sighed. "Haillie."

"Ah yes." Madison sighed dramatically. "The dreaded girlfriend."

"Exactly."

Madison decided to ponder the matter in a serious light. "Well…do you like Haillie as a friend?"

"I guess I used to…but recently she's been acting really…really…"

"Annoying?"

Bridget grinned. "Yeah. She's always – you know – nibbling on Shaun's ear in the corridors…and it's obvious that he doesn't like it. She thinks she's so….'all that.'

"If you ask me, you're not to blame for anything. I mean, it's obviously that Shaun likes you…"

Bridget perked up. "Really?"

"Duh!" Madison and Bridget both laughed.

"Well, that's good to know. Especially since Ephram Brown adores you."

"Come off it, Bridge."

"Come off it? Sonny, he invited you to a ball! This is so…Cinderella!"

"Apart from the fact that I'm not a slave with a fairy godmother…"

"Whatever. Do you think maybe we should go down now?"

"Sure. And don't worry Bridge – I have a feeling you and Shaun will be very happy tonight…"

"What are you thinking Madison?" Bridget raised her eyebrows.

"Nothing!" Madison replied. "Nothing at all."

As Madison came down the stairs, the whole of the ballroom turned to look. With her beautiful auburn hair curling on her shoulders, she looked amazing. A/N - If you want to see the picture of the dress that I drew for Madison, just send me an email!

As Bridget then followed Madison, Shaun almost dropped his punch.

"Go get her dude!" Eddie whispered to Shaun.

"Wow," was all that Shaun could manage.

Eddie waved his hand in front of Shaun's face. "I said go get her!" He grinned.

Shaun sighed and looked down. "I can't. It wouldn't be fair on Haillie."

"Dude!" Eddie said, shocked. It wouldn't be fair on Bridget if you didn't! Haillie's not even here," he said, quickly surveying the hall. Too quickly.

"I guess…"

"Correctamundo, my brother."

Madison talked and laughed with Jeffrey and Michael, two of her friends on the volleyball team. Ephram then came over to join them, something he had been putting off for a while.

"Hey! New kid," greeted Jeffrey.

"Hey guys," Ephram nodded at them.

"This ball is great, Ephram," Madison started, as they began to walk away from the group together. "You must tell me," she said, putting on a posh accent, "how did you pull it off?"

"Magic?" They both laughed. "Well, actually, I had some help."

"From…?" Madison asked getting punch for both of them.

"My dad did most of it, but Amy and I did the decora…"

Madison choked on her drink. "You and ...Amy?"

Ephram felt slightly uncomfortable; he could see that Madison wasn't too happy with what he had just said.

"Uh…yeah. She came to me and apologised, don't worry. We're pretty good friends now."

Madison coughed slightly. "You and Amy?" she asked again, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah…are you okay?" Ephram enquired; Madison had choked again.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm…fine. So. Let's change the subject."

Damien Rice's 'The Blower's Daughter' came onto the speakers and Ephram had an idea. "Do you…maybe…wanna dance?"

Madison smiled. "I'd love to."

_And so it is_

_Just like you said it would be_

_Life goes easy on me_

_Most of the time…_

"So?" Eddie asked mischievously. "You guys havin' a good time?"

Shaun and Bridget stood smiling as they watched Madison and Ephram dance together. They were so perfect for each other…

"Oh…yeah!" Bridget replied, realising that she had been asked a question. She looked into Shaun's eyes, and they held the gaze for a few moments, then both went back to gazing, almost longingly, at Madison.

"So…" Shaun started. "You like Damien Rice?"

Bridget smiled at him. "Mmhmm. You?

Shaun grinned. "Sure…but My Chemical Romance is more _me_."

"Oh really?" she asked playfully.

"Really!" he replied. Then came the awkward silence. Eddie broke it.

Sighing, he said, "You kids! Can't you just get it over and done with?" He was about to say more, but the leader of the cheerleading squad caught his attention and he left quickly.

Shaun turned to look at Bridget. "Do you feel like dancing to Damien Rice?"

She smiled, surprised. "What?"

Shaun was disappointed. "Well…I guess that's fine…if you don't want to…"

"No!" Bridget looked deep into his eyes. "I do want to."

The both smiled, and began to dance.

"So…are you alright?" Ephram asked Madison, who had her head on his shoulder. She sighed in bliss and said, "I'm great."

"I'm really glad you came..." Ephram whispered.

Madison smiled as there lips moved closer. "I'm pretty glad too…"

It was the perfect song, and the perfect moment. As their lips moved closer, Madison felt the sparks inside her that she knew that she had only with Ephram. Just before their lips met…

"Hey guys! Madison, could I cut in?"

It had to be Amy.


	8. The Rejection

A/N Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!

Madison hit Bridget with her pillow. "You didn't!" she cried.

Bridget fell back on the bed, laughing. "I know! I can't believe it!"

"What was it like?"

"Well, it was kind of fairy-tale like, you know? I mean, I never thought it would happen…but I didn't tell you the worst part."

"What?" Madison asked, intrigued.

"When I was kissing him, I opened one of my eyes…and saw Haillie!"

"No!"

"Seriously! She definitely saw us, but I don't think she saw _me_ see _her_."

Madison exhaled. "Woah. You know what this means right?"

Bridget looked slightly nervous. "What?"

"She's gonna be unbearable at school tomorrow."

"Huh? How do you mean?"

"She's gonna be totally all over Shaun like she owns him."

Bridget sighed. "The works?"

"The works."

"Well, at least I'll have fiery old you by my side. Anyway – how was your night with Ephram?"

Madison looked down and suddenly found her duvet cover very interesting. "My night? Oh. Uh, pretty uneventful…"

"Madison…" Bridget raised her eyebrows at her. She knew that Madison was lying.

Madison sighed and began to walk around her room. "It was practically perfect. Me and Ephram were slow-dancing, and it was like the perfect dream-like moment. And then our heads leaned closer, and everything was great…but…"

"But what?" Bridget said softly.

"Amy. She came over, and just…ruined everything."

"How? What did she do?"

"Well – she knew what we were about to do…"

"Right…"

"And then she just barged right through and said – you know, in that annoying voice of hers – 'Can I cut in?'"

Bridget squeezed her pillow and rocked on her knees. "And then what?"

Madison sighed, falling back onto her bed. Ephram just didn't say anything and let her push me out of the way…"

"No!"

"Yup. And I spent the rest d the night flicking peanuts at her with Eddie."

"I'm so sorry Sonny. Are you gonna talk to him tomorrow?"

"Probably not. I mean, he and Amy are probably an item now."

"You never know," Bridget said thoughtfully. "Anything could happen…"

Madison and Bridget walked down the hallway, and neither of them looked happy. Then Madison saw Eddie and Shaun approaching, and whispered to Bridget. "Here's your chance!"

"But…I…" Bridget felt too embarrassed to say anything.

But then Madison caught a glimpse of Haillie jogging to catch up from behind. "Uh-oh. Maybe not."

Haillie placed her hand on Shaun's shoulder. "Hey baby," she whispered.

"Oh…uh, hey," Shaun said distractedly, too busy smiling at Bridget.

"How was your weekend?" Haillie asked slyly.

"He scored," Eddie said, somehow fitting the words into a cough.

"I'm sorry, what?" Haillie demanded angrily.

"Nothing, hun," Shaun said hurriedly, not wanting to make a scene. "Bridget! Madison! How are ya?"

Bridget just grinned. There was an awkward silence.

Clapping her hands together, Madison decided to break it. "Well! Isn't this fun! Haillie…how was _your_ weekend?"

Bridget nudged Madison and glared at her. Madison nudged Bridget back, the smile directed at Haillie still plastered over her face.

"Oh, it was _great_," Haillie said sarcastically. "How about you? _Bridge?_" Haillie spat disgustedly, emphasising the nickname she loathed.

Bridget started to get angry, and looked up straight into Haillie eyes. "Amazing, actually!"

"I wonder why? I guess stealing people's boyfriends comes easy to you, does it?"

"What exactly is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It's supposed to mean that…" Haillie's sentence was cut short as Ephram appeared.

"Hey Madison," he whispered in her ear.

Madison turned round. "Oh. Hey," she replied unenthusiastically when she realised who it was.

"Could I talk to you for a minute?"

Madison stared at the ground. "Sure, whatever." She began to walk away from the group with him. "Good luck," Bridget whispered to her. "Don't worry, I don't need it. I'm over him," Madison replied, sounding much braver than she felt.

"So?"

Ephram was grinning. "So…I was thinking…that…uh…maybe you weren't doing anything on Saturday?"

Madison held her blank gaze, and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

Ephram was confused. "Uh…well…I was thinking maybe you wanted to go ice-skating? At The Rink?"

She couldn't help it. Madison started to smile. "I…I think I'm…yeah…I…"

Ephram grinned. "I'll take that as a yes. Right?"

"Right! But – uh – is anybody else gonna be there?" Madison tried her best to sound casual. "Like…Amy?"

"Yeah…actually it was her idea to invite you…"

Madison looked down at the ground and nodded, breathing slowly. She then looked back up, straight into his eyes. "Oh. Well. Actually, I don't think I'm free on Saturday."

Ephram's face fell. "You're not? But I thought you just said…"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Madison said sarcastically. "Anyhoo, hope you have a _great_ time with _Amy_." She rolled her eyes and walked away.

"Madison!" Ephram called after her. But she ignored him, and ran into a cubicle in the girls toilets.

What had she done? Madison knew that she liked Ephram, and she had just blown it. But did he like her? She had thought that he would finally be the guy for her, but as soon as something had gone wrong, she had totally handled it the wrong way.

She hadn't had much experience with a proper boyfriend.

She needed to ask for advice. Advice from the expert.


	9. The Beginning

"Never in my years of teaching here would I expect to see you two brought here. And I would just like to say that I am _appalled_. Two young ladies like yourselves being broken apart from a _catfight_! What do you think this is? Some kind of wrestling ring?"

There was a short silence.

"I asked you a question!"

"No, sir," they replied in unison.

"Good! Now you will both be receiving detentions…"

"But she..." one of the girls started to interrupt.

"I don't even want to hear it, okay? You will both be receiving detentions – maybe that way you will learn how to behave appropriately in this school. Good day Miss Murray, Miss Thompson." The two girls left the principal's office, and went opposite ways, not saying a word to one another.

Madison, who had been waiting outside, linked arms with Bridget. "Sorry, dude," she said, and they made their way to their lockers.

As Madison made her way down the hall, she felt mixed up. On the one hand she was happy that Bridget had socked Haillie, but on the other hand, she was totally upset about the whole Ephram/Amy thing. But as she got the books she needed out from her locker, she was interrupted in her thinking as a guy approached her and coughed slightly.

Closing the locker, she said, "Hey!" As she put the books in her bag, she asked, "Can I help you?" The guy in front of her was quite tall, with dark brown hair just above his shoulders. His beautiful russet eyes looked into hers.

"Hey! Uh – you're on the volleyball team, right?" he asked her.

"Yeah…" she replied, as she started to walk away from her locker with him. "All the spots in Chess Club were taken, so volleyball was the next best thing."

He laughed. "I'm Dylan by the way."

"Madison."

"So, Madison…I'm the captain of the team and I thought maybe you wanted to be moved up – to Team A?"

Madison stopped in her tracks. "_You_ want _me_ to be in Team_ A_?"

"Uh-huh. And your friend Bridget, my spies tell me she's pretty good too."

"Wow! I don't know what to say!"

"How about you say: 'Sure Dylan, I'd love to – ooh and I'd also love to come to the super cool pool party that Taylor Smith is having'?" he said in a girly voice.

Laughing in disbelief, Madison said, "Taylor Smith? I mean, we're friends and all, but don't you have to have like an invite or something crazy like that?"

Dylan mocked serious thought. "Hmmm, I pick the 'something crazy like that.'"

"And that would be…" Madison asked playfully.

Dylan cleared his throat. "I, Dylan Baker, give you, Madison Gorgeous-Eyes" – she blushed – "the honour of coming with me, the 'something crazy like that,' to Taylor Smith's pool party this Saturday."

Madison grinned, and cleared her throat. "Sure Dylan, gee, I'd love to come to the super cool pool party that Taylor Smith is having!"

Smiling, Dylan said, "Great. So what do you have next?"

"Math. You?"

"Math! What a coincidence!"

"So with that in mind," Mrs Nielson droned on, "We can not deduce that x …"

But Ephram wasn't listening. He was too busy staring at the back of Madison's head, wondering how her could have been such a jerk.

_Flashback_

Madison walked over to Ephram's locker. It was his first day, and he had been struggling to open the damn thing for a pretty long time. She came over and opened hers. Pretty easily. Then she looked at him from the corner of her eye, and noticed him struggling.

"Hey! Ephram, right?"

"Yeah! And you are…?"

"Madison." Then she laughed. "Need some help?"

Ephram looked at her, then looked down. "Oh. No, I'm getting along good. Great actually."

She laughed again – it was like music. Then she opened his locker for him. Pretty easily.

"There ya go kiddo," she said, patting his arm.

"Wait a minute. How did you know my locker combination?"

"Everybody knows your combination," she laughed. "You're the new kid."

"Oh, right," Ephram joked. "Fantastic! Not only are my most prized possessions at risk, but I just managed to embarrass myself in front of the first person (and girl, might I add) to talk to me today."

Madison laughed, and then there was a slightly awkward silence. Then looked right into his eyes. "You doing anything tonight?"

Ephram leaned on his locker. "No, why?"

"Some of my friends and I were planning on having a movie night…"

"And you want to offer me the chance of embarrassing myself in front of more of my classmates?"

"No!" she replied, and punched him playfully on the arm. "So, you wanna come?"

"Uh…sure, I guess so."

"Okay…" she said, and rooted in her bag for a piece of paper. Scribbling something on it, she said, "Here's…my…address. 7.00, okay?"

"Sure, I'll be there," he said taking the piece of paper.

"I'll see you around then, Mr Brown," Madison said mischievously, and walked away.

_Flashback_

What had he done wrong? He'd always liked Madison, from the first day of school. And at the fundraiser, she had looked amazing. And yet, so had Amy…

Wait! What was he thinking? How could he have strung along both girls? Madison was the one he liked, and he was going to make it up to her.

Somehow.


	10. The Advice

_A/NThanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate them. Krazypirategurl: No, not any time soon anyway!_

"Madison! Hey, wait up!" Ephram called.

Madison turned round, and then sighed as she realised that she had to wait for him. She was babysitting Delia that night. Suddenly, she remembered the conversation she had had the day before.

_Flashback_

Madison held the phone to her ear, and the ringing continued. _Come on, pick up_, she thought.

"Yello!"

"Hi, is that Larissa?"

"Sure is."

"Larissa…it's Maddi."

"Maddi! Oh my gosh, how are you!"

"I-I'm great. You?"

"I'm fabulous. So what's up? How's Everwood?"

"Uh…it's good. But I need to talk to you about something."

"What's his name?"

"Huh?"

"The guy you like. What's his name?"

"How did you…"

Larissa laughed on the other end. "Come on Maddi. I live in New York."

Laughing, Madison said, "I guess you're right. Well…his name's Ephram. And I totally like him. But…"

"But you're not sure if what he wants because he's sending you mixed signals?"

"Right again."

"Well Maddi, what did you expect? We're practically sisters."

Madison sighed, and at the same time on the other end, Larissa brushed her hair out of her eyes. "What do you think I should do?"

"Well. Don't you think it's obvious?"

"Uh…not really."

"You like him. He must like you, because the Madison I knew wouldn't waste her time if he didn't. So you gotta forgive him. Who knows, he could say sorry first."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

She exhaled again. "Thanks, Lariss. I'll call you again soon."

"You'd better! We miss you, dahlin."

Madison gave a weak laugh. "Bye Lariss."

"Bye Maddi."

_Flashback_

Ephram caught up with Madison, panting slightly. "Look. I just wanted to say – I'm sorry."

If Madison was surprised, she didn't show it. She cocked her head to one side and put her hand on her hip. "For what?"

"For – everything. I'm sorry about the whole deal with Amy. I'm sorry if I sent out the wrong signals – but Amy and I aren't dating."

"You're not?" Now Madison was surprised. For real.

"No, we're just friends. I know that what I did at the fundraiser was completely out of line. It's just that…"

"It doesn't matter," Madison said. Then she smiled. "Let's just forget about it, okay?"

"Great!" Ephram was relieved. And Madison was pleased. And pleased and relieved went pretty well together.

Madison stood in the kitchen, frying something over the cooker for diner. Ephram entered the kitchen and walked over to her.

"What's cooking, good-looking?"

Madison laughed. "Fried chicken and spicy rice," she said, and smiled.

"You're cooking _that_?" Ephram asked, gawping.

Worried, Madison replied, "You don't like it?" Her face fell. "Is someone allergic or something?"

"No, no! It's great…it's just that…the last time we had something interesting for dinner, it was when Dad mixed up Pizza Hut and Domino's." They both laughed.

"Well, hopefully everyone will enjoy my lil' surprise," she laughed, and turned to Delia who was sitting at the counter.

"What you doing?" she said, as she sat down.

"You wanna see a neat trick?"

"Sure. Hit me with it!"

"Okay." Delia fanned out the cards, just like any professional casino worker. Madison was impressed.

"Okay."

"You got the card in your head?"

"Yahuh," Madison replied, and smiled at Ephram, who had been observing the goings on amusedly.

Delia shuffled the cards, a look of intense concentration on her face. "Okay," she said, and exhaled. She shuffled the cards again, just for luck.

"Is this your card?"

"Geez! You are truly amazing Delia. How did you know?"

"I am? I mean, thanks!"

"I'd better check on the food," Madison said, and was followed by Ephram as she went into the kitchen.

"So!" he started. "Was that really your card?"

"I think that's a personal question, don't you?" Madison asked mischievously.

For a few seconds, they just smiled at each other. And as 10th graders, they didn't particularly enjoy Science. But they both definitely enjoyed the chemistry that existed between them then.

A/N Cheesy, I know. Apologies, my dear friends.


	11. The Invitation

_A/N – Apologies and more apologies. But I've been swamped with my exams and loads of revision. However, I present to you, Chapter 11._

_Btw, I just thought you might be interested to know who I pictured the characters to be while I was writing the story. So here goes…_

_Bridget - Kaley Cuoco_

_Dylan – Drake Bell_

_Eddie – Will Friedle_

_Shaun – Rider Strong_

_Mariah Kellner – Lauren Graham_

_The characters that weren't created by The WB came out of my very own head!_

_Disclaimer: I soooo do not own Everwood. Or anywood, for that matter._

Madison woke up and rubbed her eyes. As she got out from her sleeping bag on the floor, she realised what day it was. She smiled.

It was the day of the party.

"Bridget? Bridget!" Madison hissed.

Bridget rolled over in her sleeping bag. "What?"

"Wake up! You know what day it is!"

"You bet," Bridget replied, sitting up and smiling.

Madison stood in front of mirror, trying to make a decision on her outfit. "D'you think I should ditch the sarong?"

"_Definitely_," Bridget drawled, pretending to be someone from Queer Eye.

"I thought so too."

"But…" Bridget said, as she whipped out something from Madison's closet, "…this sarong-skirty kinda thing looks positively _fabulous_ on you dahling."

Madison laughed. "You are _sooooo_ right." They both stood up in front of the mirror. Madison wore a dark brown tankini that complimented her tanned skin. She also wore the beige knee-length sarong-skirty thing on top. Bridget wore a pink and white hibiscus printed tankini with a pink swimskirt on top.

"So! You never did tell me how you managed to get us invited to Taylor Smith's pool party!"

"Well… _actually_, it wasn't _actually_ Taylor who _actually_ invited us."

"Say what?"

"Dylan Baker invited us."

"Dylan Baker! That's even better!"

"I know! And I've got more good news!"

"What could be better than you hooking up with Dylan Baker…?" Bridget sighed dreamily.

"Wait a minute Bridge. Dylan and I aren't 'hooking up.'"

"Why not?" Bridget asked.

"Because…I dunno…we only just met!"

"Or maybe because you like somebody else?" Bridget asked mischievously, raising her eyebrows. "Cough-Ephram-cough!"

"Get outta town."

"Sonny, we've been through this enough times…"

Madison threw her pillow at Bridget. "Whatever!"

"So! If you had to choose between Ephram and Dylan, who would it be?"

Pondering for a moment, she then said, "I don't know. Ephram's totally hot and totally sweet and funny…"

"But…"

"But…I guess I don't really know Dylan well enough to choose," she replied, glad to be finished with that question.

"Riiiight."

"It's true!" Then the doorbell rang.

Bridget mocked surprise. "Hmmm! I wonder who that could be?"

"Ha ha," said Madison as she went to answer the door. "Why would Ephram be standing out…Hi Ephram! Why are you standing out there?"

Ephram's mouth lay open for a second; then he recovered from seeing Madison and Bridget in their swimsuits.

"Woah! Uh…I…uh…I thought we were going to go to the Rink?"

Madison looked confused. "I thought that maybe you were just going with Amy?"

"No, I…oh. You're going to Taylor's birthday party, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Madison replied. For a moment, she was upset that she was going. "But hey, why don't you come?"

"Me? Uh, no I don't think I'd really…"

"Aw, come on. You know you'll enjoy it."

"Well…I guess…"

"Great!" Madison said, relieved.

"But…what about Amy? She'll have to go to The Rink by herself."

"So what?" Madison said under her breath. Unsuccessfully.

"Come on, Madison," Ephram said.

"Okay, whatever. She…she can come too, I guess…"

"She can? Thanks Madison," said Ephram, giving her an awkward hug.

"You're welcome," she replied, her voice strained.

As Ephram left, Bridget came out from Madison's room where she had been doing her make-up. And eavesdropping. "Uh-oh," she said.

"What?" Madison asked.

"Dylan and Taylor aren't going to be very happy…"

"Why not?"

"Because you just invited two extra people. Ephram – who will fight endlessly for love against Dylan, and Amy – does she really need an explanation for why you shouldn't have invited her?"

"I guess. But you heard how upset Ephram was when he thought of 'poor, poor Amy' going to The Rink by herself."

"Yeah, well. That tells you that he cares about people, I guess…"

"Yeah. It does." Madison replied. But she wasn't so sure that that was what Ephram had meant.

Bridget saw that Madison was upset. "So…what was that good news?"

Madison smiled, and her eyes lit up.

"Well, you know the volleyball team…"


End file.
